Malala Day – 12 July

Malala Day – 12 July

Malala Day is organized by the UN Secretary-General’s Global Initiative on Education, in honor of the younger activist, Malala Yousafzai. Malala Day is commemorated, the birthday of Malala Yousafzai, to honor girls and children’s rights around the world.

The day celebrates and honors Malala’s tireless work in ensuring education for girls all over the world, especially in areas where it’s valued the least. Malala is becoming a house title all over the globe for her endeavors in direction of training specifically for girls.

Who’s Malala Yousavzai?

When the Taliban took over Malala’s hometown in Pakistan, they forbid girls from receiving an education. Malala not only refused to comply, but she also blogged about her experiences and became an outspoken advocate for upending Taliban rule.

She was shot by the Taliban on October 9, 2012, simply because she wanted to go to school. Despite the attack, Malala soon lowered back to the public eye, fiercer in her views than before, and persevered in her advocacy for gender rights. Since that moment, she has captured the attention of the world with her bravery, becoming a voice for the rights of girls everywhere.

Fortunately, she survived after multiple surgeries and was able to eventually move with her family to England, where she continued to campaign for girls’ education and gender equality around the world.

Yousafzai commanded the world’s attention during an address at the Youth Assembly at the United Nations. Her message, broadcast live around the world, was simple and direct: All children deserve an education, and no girl should ever face violence for it.

Her work yielded her a 2014 Nobel Peace Prizefor her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education,” making Malala, at just 17, the youngest Nobel Laureate in history.

Malala Fund helps girls around the world to get the education they deserve. The money raised would go to projects she is most passionate about. For more info, please visit Malalafund.org

Awards and Honors that Malala received

Malala has been awarded the following national and international awards and honors:

-International Children’s Peace Prize nominee, 2011
-National Youth Peace Prize, 2011
-Pakistan’s third-highest civilian bravery award, October 2012
-Foreign Policy magazine top 100 global thinker, November 2011
-Time magazine Person of the Year shortlist, December 2012
-Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice, November 2012
-Rome Prize for Peace and Humanitarian Action, December 2012
-Simone de Beauvoir Prize, January 2013
-Nobel Peace Prize nominee, March 2013
-Doughty Street Advocacy award of Index on Censorship, March 2013
-Fred and Anne Jarvis Award of the UK National Union of Teachers, March 2013
-Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards, Global Trailblazer, April 2013
One of Time’s “100 Most Influential People In The World”, April 2013
-Premi Internacional Catalunya Award of Catalonia, May 2013
-Annual Award for Development of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), June 2013
-International Campaigner of the Year, 2013 Observer Ethical Awards, June 2013
-2012 Tipperary International Peace Award, Ireland Tipperary Peace Convention, August 2013
-International Children’s Peace Prize, KidsRights, 2013
-Portrait of Yousafzai by Jonathan Yeo displayed at National Portrait Gallery, London
-Ambassador of Conscience Award from Amnesty International
-2013 Clinton Global Citizen Awards from Clinton Foundation
-Harvard Foundation’s Peter Gomes Humanitarian Award from Harvard University
-2013 Anna Politkovskaya Award – Reach All Women In War
2013 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought – awarded by the European Parliament
2013 Edinburgh University granted Malala an honorary Master of Arts degree
-2013 Pride of Britain, October 2013
-Glamour magazine Woman of the Year
-GG2 Hammer Award – GG2 Leadership Awards, November 2013
2013 International Prize for Equality and Non-Discrimination
-2014 Nominee for World Children’s Prize also known as Children’s Nobel Prize
-Nobel Peace Prize nominee, February 2014

Suggested Read: Important Days In July

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Simmi Kamboj

Simmi Kamboj is the Founder and Administrator of Ritiriwaz, your one-stop guide to Indian Culture and Tradition. She had a passion for writing about India's lifestyle, culture, tradition, travel, and is trying to cover all Indian Cultural aspects of Daily Life.